Iron Mountain is an

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

located in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

mountain range in

Madera County Madera County (), officially the County of Madera, is a county located at the geographic center of the U.S. state of California. It features a varied landscape, encompassing the eastern San Joaquin Valley and the central Sierra Nevada, with Ma ...

of northern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. It is situated in the

Ansel Adams Wilderness The Ansel Adams Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Sierra Nevada of California, United States. The wilderness spans ; 33.9% of the territory lies in the Inyo National Forest, 65.8% is in the Sierra National Forest, and the remaining 0.3% co ...

, on the boundary shared by

Inyo National Forest Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest p ...

with

Sierra National Forest Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of the central Sierra Nevada in California, bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and on the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is known for ...

. It is set at the south end of the

Ritter Range The Ritter Range is a small mountain range within California's Sierra Nevada. Most of the mountain range lies within the Ansel Adams Wilderness. The John Muir Trail passes by many lakes within the Ritter Range. The most prominent peaks of the Ri ...

, approximately west of the community of

Mammoth Lakes Mammoth Lakes is the only incorporated town in Mono County, California, United States. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 7,191, reflecting a ...

Devils Postpile National Monument A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in many and various cultures and religious traditions. Devil or Devils may also refer to: * Satan * Devil in Christianity * Demon * Folk devil Art, entertainment, and media Film and ...

is 4.5 miles to the east and the

Minarets A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

are three miles to the north. Precipitation runoff from the west side of this mountain drains to North Fork

San Joaquin River The San Joaquin River ( ; ) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francis ...

, and from the east slope to the Middle Fork San Joaquin.

Topographic relief Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...

is significant as the east aspect rises over above Anona Lake in approximately one mile. There are climbing routes to the summit via the south slope and east face, and inclusion on the

Sierra Peaks Section The Sierra Peaks Section (SPS) is a mountaineering society within the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club that serves to provide mountaineering activities for Sierra Club members in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada, and to honor mountaineers ...

peakbagging Peak bagging or hill bagging is an activity in which hikers, climbers, and mountaineers attempt to reach a collection of summits, published in the form of a list. This activity has been popularized around the world, with lists such as 100 Peaks o ...

list generates climbing interest.

Etymology

The mountain's name is attributable to

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

found on the west shoulder of the peak. The toponym was likely applied by the

Wheeler Survey The Wheeler Survey, carried out in 1872-1879, was one of the "Four Great Surveys" conducted by the United States government after the Civil War primarily to document the geology and natural resources of the American West. Supervised by First Lieu ...

,Peter Browning, ''Place Names of the Sierra Nevada: From Abbot to Zumwalt'', Wilderness Press, 1986, , page 107. and has been officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Iron Mountain is located in an

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical climate for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of alpine cli ...

zone. Most

weather front A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For ins ...

s originate in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or

snowfall Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

onto the range.

Gallery

File:Iron Mountain winter.jpg, Iron Mountain's east aspect, seen from Mammoth Mountain. File:Ritter Range from Mammoth.jpg, Ritter Range seen from Mammoth Mountain. Iron Mountain to left. File:Iron Mountain west.jpg, West aspect File:Iron mt.jpg

References

{{reflist

External links

* NGS Data Sheet
Iron Mountain
* Aerial video of Iron Mountain and Iron Lake
Gettyimages.com
Sierra National Forest Mountains of Madera County, California Mountains of the Ansel Adams Wilderness Three-thousanders of the United States Mountains of Northern California Sierra Nevada (United States) Inyo National Forest

Etymology

Climate

See also

Gallery

References

External links